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How to Understand the New AHPRA Changes and Stay Compliant

The recent expansion of the cosmetic surgery investigation by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) to encompass procedures like fillers and Botox injections. This is an important step in making sure that all procedures, even those deemed “minor,” are subject to the highest standards.

Total Medical Design is aware that the new laws will put pressure on numerous companies in the medical and cosmetic sectors.

We are aware of the subtleties and intricacies of AHPRA requirements. We’ve been on the cutting edge, helping a number of our clients become and stay compliant.

Here’s a closer look at the most recent modifications and how we may serve as your beacon of hope during this period:

Being aware of the new modifications
The current AHPRA investigation of cosmetic procedures is an important step in making sure that all procedures, even those deemed “minor,” are subject to the highest standards. This implies that companies providing these services must make sure they follow the rules established by the regulating authority.
Expertise of Total Medical Design
We have a thorough understanding of AHPRA’s criteria and have worked with a variety of health professionals. Our AHPRA compliance guide for physicians and other health practitioners is proof of our subject-matter competence. In order to ensure that your online presence complies with the regulations, we have also taken great care to ensure that medical practices’ websites and advertising are AHPRA compliant.
Specialised Services for Your Company
We are aware that every company has distinct requirements for compliance. Total Medical Design provides custom solutions made to meet your unique needs. We offer the resources and knowledge to direct you towards compliance, whether you are an established practitioner or a newcomer to the cosmetics industry.
Keeping up with the times
It’s important to be informed because regulations are constantly changing. Our team keeps an eye out for the most recent rules and revisions from AHPRA. By working with us, you can make sure that your company is always one step ahead and ready for any changes in the law.

The direction in which the medical and cosmetic sectors are headed is evident from the most recent AHPRA amendments. Even though these changes may seem intimidating, we can help you by making sure the process of becoming compliant is simple. We are dedicated to making sure that your company not only complies with AHPRA’s compliance criteria but also surpasses them.

Reach out to us right away to discuss how we can get things going.

How to ensure your medical practice’s website and advertising is Ahpra compliant

New compliance regulations have been made by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) for advertisements and practises related to cosmetic surgery. These regulations seek to protect patients by preventing false or deceptive claims. In this blog article, we’ll look at the value of Ahpra compliance, talk about the new rules, and offer tips for maintaining compliance while successfully promoting services. View the complete article here.

Understanding Ahpra Compliance: According to Ahpra regulations, healthcare professionals are not allowed to make false statements in their advertising. Compliance guarantees that patients base their decisions on reliable information.

New Cosmetic Surgery Compliance Rules: Ahpra has put in place specific regulations for cosmetic surgery practices that address before and after pictures, expectations for outcomes, risks, recuperation timeframes, and advertising limits.

Application of the Rules: Both surgical and non-surgical therapies that change bodily features for aesthetic reasons are covered by the rules.

All registered health professionals, including doctors, nurses, dentists, and specialists, are required to abide by Ahpra compliance regulations.

Avoiding Penalties and Restrictions: Failure to comply is a criminal offence that may result in fines of up to $120,000 and practise limitations.

By using professional support, Total Medical Design can help practitioners connect their advertising campaigns with Ahpra’s regulations, assuring compliance and reducing risks.

It’s critical for medical professionals to maintain Ahpra compliance. Following the rules protects patients and keeps you out of trouble. To maintain compliance and establish a prosperous healthcare practise, get professional advice and read the whole article here.

The medical Symposium App that makes life easier

Check out our video to view the bespoke Verve Symposium App, making life easier for organisers, faculty, and delegates. Created for a modest budget and no ongoing costs like other platforms.

The Total Medical Design Guide to Advertising Regulations for Healthcare Businesses

Owning and operating a healthcare business in Australia can often feel like walking through a field of landmines. The landmines, or rather advertising regulatory standards, can seem rather complex at first. However, in this clear and simple guide by Total Medical Design, you will gain a deeper understanding of your regulatory obligations for marketing and advertising in the health sector in Australia.

We’re talking about advertising in the broadest sense of the word

Advertising standards in the health industry are set by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (APHRA).

Advertising is classified as any action by your business that draws attention to itself. In practice, advertising could be conducted in endless numbers of ways. Your business could employ someone to do sign writing in the sky – that’s advertising. Or advertising could be simply adding your business details to an online directory website.

Medical practices in Australia aren’t allowed to use testimonials in their advertising

Testimonials are comments left by previous customers or patients about your medical practice. These comments recount the personal objective experiences of individuals. This means that testimonials are unlikely to be balanced and informed sources of information.

Patients often place undue emphasis on testimonials because of their lack of knowledge about health and specialist medicine. These patients often lack the knowledge to properly validate any scientific claims on health websites.

This means prospective customers and patients are vulnerable to being misled by testimonials in medical and healthcare advertising that is inaccurate and misleading. The regulation aims to protect these patients.

Who is responsible for advertising in a healthcare business?

It doesn’t matter if you have employed an agency to help with advertising. The responsibility for advertising still lays with the principle health practitioner at the clinic or business.

Monitoring and removing patient comments or feedback

Healthcare and medical businesses in Australia are expected to monitor all “owned” media. To clarify, owned media is media that was set up and managed by the health business themselves. Examples of owned media would be a website, e-newsletter, promotional print marketing, video or radio advertising or Google ads.

Principle health practitioners will need to keep an eye out for instances where customers provide comments or feedback that could be classified as a testimonial that are located within “owned’ media.

Patient comments that aren’t owned by your business – not your problem

When a comment or customer feedback is located on a third party website or social media channel outside of the control of your business, you don’t need to request the removal of that piece of content.

Although if you do decide to copy and use content from or third party sources – then the APRA regulations will apply to this content.

When you cannot use a patient comment as a testimonial

When a customer mentions a clinical aspect of your medical practice (either overtly or indirectly), then this quote or commentary cannot be used as a testimonial for advertising. More specifically:

A patient mentions their symptoms or reason for seeking treatment.
A patient mentions the diagnosis or treatment provided by your medical practice.
A patient mentions treatment outcomes, or the skills and experience of a practitioner at your medical practice.

When you can use a patient comment

In certain circumstances, it’s OK to use a testimonial on your website or other media that your business owns and controls. This includes ‘owned’ media such as your social media, website, newsletters and print publications.

A patient comment about a non-regulated health service.
A patient comment that’s not related to an aspect of clinical care.
A patient comment that’s a testimonial, but it’s not used in advertising.

Total Medical Design are ahead of the game regarding healthcare marketing regulations in Australia. Our team of experienced marketing, digital, design and content professionals have decades of collective experience in healthcare marketing.

Total Medical Design help health and medical businesses like yours to thrive and grow online. If you have any further questions about health advertising or need some advice, give us a call today on 0433 399 294
info@totalmedicaldesign.com.au

Healthcare marketing: Is online booking always the best option for your clients?

Online booking is no longer just a nice to have, today’s patients and clients expect it. With more and more people accessing health services online, being able to book an appointment straight from the screen and bypass the need to pick up the phone is a real plus. But is it always the best option?

Online booking is big

Thanks to today’s sophisticated online booking management systems, such as Gensolve, MindBodyOnline and Cliniko, setting up online booking on your health website or even your company Facebook page is now easier than ever. MindBodyOnline even lets your patients or clients book an appointment directly via a mobile app.

Whether your business is general practice, physiotherapy, cosmetic surgery or personal training, your customers can log on, view your calendar, choose a preferred practitioner, pick a time slot, fill in their details then simply press click to book. It’s as easy as that.

Benefits of online booking

Not only is online appointment booking easy for customers it’s also convenient. They can do it anytime, e.g. they can hop on and book in the evening rather than trying to find a time to call in the day. They can also do it anywhere, e.g. on the bus or in bed via a mobile device. Plus it offers some great benefits to you.

Most importantly it reduces the time spent making bookings over the phone, freeing up staff to deal with clinic or practice footfall. In addition, it eliminates duplicate booking errors that can so easily occur when appointments are made. Because many of these systems send out SMS reminders, they can also minimise missed appointments.

Is online booking always best?

There’s no denying that online booking offers many advantages to patients and clients, and to you. If you don’t already have it set up, it’s definitely something worth doing. However, it shouldn’t be your only option. That’s because online booking many not always be the best solution in every case.

For example, while an online booking system can be very convenient for your existing clients or patients, it may not always be the most effective option for new ones.

Firstly, as it eliminates an opportunity for human contact, you’re missing out on a vital chance to connect with people on a personal level and build trust – something better achieved over the phone or in person. Because trust is such a major factor in people choosing health services, if you only offer online booking people may be wary.

Secondly, clients or patients may not know which doctor, practitioner or service would be best suited to their needs. This means they may make a booking that it unsuitable or insufficient, wasting their time and yours. This compares to having a conversation with them during which you can figure out exactly what they require.

The advantages of call back

There are a couple of ways to overcome these two drawbacks. The first is a clearly visible phone number on your website and social media pages which prospective patients can call. The second is to offer a call back option alongside your online booking facility.

Rather than getting patients or clients to call you, a call back form lets them input their name and contact details and request that you contact them. You can even include fields for extra information, such as the nature of their health issue, so you have a better understanding and can assist them more efficiently when you do call them.

Not only can this help you deliver better customer service, it’s once again taking the pressure away from your front desk as call backs can be made a more convenient time, for example, when your clinic is less busy. This will also boost your customer service by avoiding rushed conversations, voice mail diverts and unanswered calls.

It’s all about choice

Ultimately, the more options you can give your patients or clients for making an appointment, the better. Today’s customers expect choice, and if you don’t offer it they might just head off to another provider or service that does. So, as well as including your phone number on your website, include an option for online booking as well as a call back form – it’s a win, win for you and your patients.

Need some help setting up online booking and call back on your website? Contact Total Medical Design Today.

Australian healthcare marketing: What you need to know to stay compliant

Marketing in the healthcare industry is tough.

Not only do you need to keep up with increasing competition and market developments, but you also need to stay compliant. This means following the strict and extensive set of rules and regulations which guide how health and medical services are advertised.

Not doing so can have serious implications, therefore before you embark on your next marketing related project – a new website, social media campaign, brochure – it’s important you understand exactly what’s required. Otherwise you could put both your business and patients at risk.

What rules and regulations do you need to follow?

In Australia, health practitioners, from GPs to dentists to pharmaceutical companies, should look to the following sources for guidance:

National Law such as Australian Consumer Law
The Guidelines for Advertising Regulated Health Services
The relevant National Board code of ethics and professional conduct

National Law applies to all industries, not just health-related, and provides a solid foundation for best practice. The Guidelines for Advertising Regulated Health Services go one step further, explaining the obligations of National Law in the context of the health industry. Each of the 14 National Boards then has their own industry-specific guidelines.

If you sell health-related products or goods you must also comply with further legislation set out by regulators such as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).

To get a general overview of what’s required, the Guidelines for Advertising Regulated Health Services are a good place to start.

Understanding the Guidelines for Advertising Regulated Health Services

Created by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) alongside the National Boards, these guidelines were put in place to protect the public.

As well as explaining and offering direction on the obligations of advertisers under the National Law, they also outline what is and what isn’t acceptable, the responsibilities practitioners have to conform to them and the consequences of failing to do so.

What are the underlying principles?

Advertising is good as it helps people make informed choices
False advertising can compromise their choices
Using health services all the time is undesirable

Who do the guidelines apply to?

According to the guidelines they apply to ‘any person who advertises a regulated health service or business that provides a regulated health service’.

What happens if you breach them?

A breach of these advertising regulations is a criminal offence. An individual can be fined up to $5,000 or a body corporate up to $10,000. For this to happen, a concern must be raised with the AHPRA.

What are the main requirements?

1. Include enough factual information so people can make informed decisions

Typical information included in health services advertising (e.g. on a website) would be your contact details, opening hours, accesiblity, languages spoken, fees, qualifications of practitioners/staff, any practice accreditations and procedural warnings.

2. Don’t engage in any of the following prohibited practices:

Provide false, misleading or inaccurate information e.g. false titles such as Dr or Specialist
Use gifts or discounts to attract patients
Use testimonials in your advertising
Create an unreasonable expectation of treatment benefits
Encourage people to use services they might not need
Compare yourself to other providers/practitioners

In addition, the guidelines also include the ACCC’s best practices which you should always endeavour to follow when marketing your healthcare services:

Sell your professional services on their merits
Be honest about what you say and do commercially
Look at the overall impression of your advertisement. Ask yourself who the audience is and what the advertisement is likely to say or mean to them

Specific guidelines for social media

Due to the unique nature of the channel, social media marketing has its own set of guidelines – the AHPRA Social Media Policy. The main takeaways from this are:

You must have a professional account not linked to your personal one
You are liable for your social media account and must accept responsibility for it including for comments published on it
You should regularly review content to ensure you’re complying with the law

Whatever marketing project you are working on, sticking to these main underlying principles should keep you on track. However, always make sure you refer to all relevant sources as outlined above to ensure you stay fully compliant.

AMA position statement on: Advertising and Public Endorsement

Set out by the Australian Medical Association (AMA), this position statement provides additional ethical guidance on how doctors should advertise products and services. It also provides ethical principles for advertising and endorsement by doctors.

2 main underlying principles

The doctor’s primary duty is to act in the best interest of patients. To do this, doctors must maintain their professional autonomy, clinical independence, and integrity. Relationships between doctors and patients must not compromise treatment.

Advertising by doctors should never put commercial interests ahead of patients’ health and well-being – it should be objective, not persuasive, so that patients can make informed choices.

Conclusion

Medical and healthcare marketing doesn’t just have to be effective, it must also be compliant. So as well as engaging in great strategy and tactics always ensure you stay informed, keep within the rules and regulations for your industry and follow advertising best practices. Doing otherwise just isn’t worth the risk.

Want some help to ensure your healthcare marketing is compliant? Contact us today.

10 proven ways to drive more patients to your dental practice

Marketing a dental practice in today’s highly-competitive market can be tough.

Despite this, demand, revenue and profit in the Australian dental market is rising so there’s plenty of possibility for growth – with the right strategy. So what can you do to take advantage of this trend? How can you stand out in a sea of generic dental clinics and get more patients through your door?

Based on current marketing best practices, here are some smart suggestions you can employ right now to start bringing in new business.

1. Revisit your current marketing plan

It’s easy to get stuck in a marketing rut, doing the same old thing you’ve always done. You’ve got a website, you produce a new practice brochure each year and you advertise in the local paper and on the radio – surely that’s sufficient?

While this strategy may have worked in the past, both the market and your patient needs and expectations change so it’s important you do too. Take some time to review each of your current channels to see if they’re working, make improvements and look at what other dentists are doing and succeeding at.

2. Rebrand

Strong, unique branding is essential to attracting new patients, as well as to maintaining the loyalty of existing ones. So if you’re failing to stimulate interest, it could be that your current branding no longer resonates with your target audience, or perhaps it wasn’t very strong to start with.

To effectively rebrand you need to make sure you do some solid brainstorming to work out who are as a practice, what your unique selling points are, as well as what you want your brand personality to look and sound like. Importantly, don’t just focus on your visual identity such as your logo and comms, consider all touchpoints from customer service to practice décor.

3. Be product innovative

As well as making changes to your marketing communications, look to your wider marketing mix and consider introducing something new to your service or service delivery. Is there a new treatment or procedure you could offer or some innovative tech you introduce such as self check-in?

In addition, think about how you could make the experience more enjoyable. Could you add TV screens in the waiting room or over the chair? Perhaps you could start selling products such as healthy snacks or cookbooks as well as the usual toothbrushes, or maybe even run a course for people with dental anxiety?

4. Invest in content marketing

When done well content marketing can help you make significant gains in growing brand awareness and attracting new patients. Why? Because it taps into buyer needs at the decision making stage. By providing people with useful information on health-related topics you can yourself set up as the expert, leading people to your site and practice.

If your current content efforts involve uploading the odd averagely-written blog post every now and then, you might want to try a bit harder. The best content marketers have a written strategy and create a range of relevant quality content, from infographics and videos to e-books and how-to guides. They also actively promote it via email and social media.

5. Focus on local SEO

SEO in today’s competitive marketplace is an uphill struggle. With so many other dental practices out there ranking for the same keywords it’s hard to get seen. One way to overcome this and to increase your visibility right now is to start focusing your efforts on local SEO.

First ensure your business features on all local listings sites such as Google My Business and Yelp. Next add local long-tail keywords for example, Dentist, The Junction, Newcastle to your home, about and contact pages as well as in your titles, subheads, metatags. Do the same on your social media pages. You could also look to create some locally-focused content.

6. Do talks at local schools

Dental practices have a knack of coming off as clinical and unapproachable, so start showing people there’s more to you than just check-ups and treatments by offering to give free oral health talks at local schools. As well as getting your brand out there, it also shows your community spirit which can be a strong emotional draw.

Encourage active discussion as you talk through good teeth brushing practices, healthy eating habits and other aspects of dental health, using props where relevant. Also take along some freebies to give out at the end such as toothbrushes, timers, stickers and activity sheets. As well as getting your name in front of parents you’ll also be helping kids form good habits.

7. Give PPC advertising a go

While SEO should be your long term digital marketing strategy, pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, such as Google AdWords, can be a great way to attract more patients right now. Simply create your ad, set your budget and you can get yourself in a prime spot on the search engine results pages for increased visibility and more clicks.

One of the best things about PPC advertising is, as the name suggests, you only pay when people click on your ad, so you’ve nothing to lose. To get the most from it make sure you talk benefits not features, include your keywords and have a clear CTA. Plus don’t forget to regularly monitor and tweak your campaign for best results.

8. Hold an open day

People have a fear of the unknown, especially when it comes to dentists, and this could be preventing them picking up the phone. The solution? Hold an open day at your practice and invite potential patients – as well as existing ones – in to have a look around and let them see who you are and what you do.

Adequate preparation and promotion is key to ensuring your event is a success. Assign jobs, work out a schedule and spread the word using posters, leaflets, social media and local radio. On the day, as well as providing marketing material and refreshments, hold dental and equipment demonstrations plus short talks on dental advice. And don’t forget to take pictures.

9. Have a review/testimonial drive

Reviews and testimonials can be extremely influential when it comes to purchase decisions. If people see that previous patients have had a great experience with you, then they’re more likely to seek out your services. So take advantage of this and start generating them for your practice.

Ask patients face-to-face. Link to your local business listings review pages from your website and social media pages and include requests and prompts in your patient comms such as bills, emails and SMS. You can even try offering small incentives in the short term such as a % discount or giveaway.

10. Try vehicle wrap advertising

While it may not be the most innovative marketing tactic, vehicle wrap advertising can be extremely effective in getting your business noticed and generating more leads. By turning your car into a moving billboard, you can reach thousands of potential new customers each day as you drive and park around town.

Not only does it demand minimal outlay at a cost of around $2000 for the design and printed vinyl, but it also makes you look more professional, is non-intrusive and can even protect your paintwork. The key to success is ensuring you have a strong but simple on-brand design and a clear CTA.

7 essential tips for using Facebook to promote your medical practice

Facebook can be an extremely effective tool for marketing your medical practice.

Not only does it have the power to boost brand awareness, attract new patients and build trust and loyalty among existing ones but it also has huge reach, with over 75% of Australians (approximately 15 million) logged in (Source: Digital in 2017). In addition, Facebook is now the fourth most accessed online resource for health information (Source).

However, while its potential benefits and viability as a medical marketing channel are pretty convincing, getting the most out of it requires time, effort and some essential know-how about what you should and shouldn’t be doing to get it right – and here it is.

1. Keep it professional

While this is true for any business, when you’re working in the medical profession, you need to pay extra attention to maintaining that personal/professional divide. The first step to doing this is setting up a separate business Facebook Page instead of using a personal account to promote your practice.

With a Facebook Page you can only connect with people through ‘likes’ and ‘follows’, you don’t become ‘friends’. This means you can’t see the personal information of your patients and they can’t see yours. Because of this you can avoid a range of potential legal and ethical pitfalls.

2. Post regularly

Don’t see your Facebook Page as a static billboard. To make it a successful marketing tool for your practice, you need to be posting updates often in order to stay in the minds of existing patients, and to get in front of new ones. Twice a day is recommended but a few times a week should suffice.

Knowing what to share beyond practice updates can be a sticking point. Latest health news; advice on healthy living; tips on managing certain conditions; upcoming dates and events – think about what will engage your patients and what they’d be looking for online. Mix it up with both original and shared content – but be sure any shared content is from a credible source.

3. Encourage interaction

The great thing about social media is that it’s social, which means it’s designed to facilitate two-way conversations. So instead of just pushing out information to your practice’s Facebook Page followers, craft posts that are going to actively engage them. This means asking them questions and encouraging them to take action.

For example, you could ask what they think about a recent change at your practice e.g. new opening times etc. In addition, ask them to ‘like’ a post if they agree or describe a photo in the comments. These can all provide you with valuable feedback and insights into your customers and their preferences which you can act upon.

4. Show your human side

Trust is critical when it comes to healthcare because of its huge personal importance – people want to know they are in safe, capable hands. As well as demonstrating your authority on your Page with useful, quality posts, you also want to make people feel comfortable and that they can relate to you.

In addition to sharing your story and information about your team on your website, your Facebook Page is a great place to get your philosophy and personality across. By injecting approachability, friendliness or even humour into your posts you can give people a better insight into who you are and, in turn, build deeper relationships.

5. Optimise for local

As with anything online, to get your Facebook Page seen by the right people you need to SEO. When you set up your Facebook Page you can automatically link it to your practice website – this in itself boosts your SEO rankings. In addition to this, you should be optimising your Page and the best way to do this is using local SEO.

Local SEO is critical in general practice as the majority of your patients will come from your surrounding geo-location. What do you need to do? Firstly, include some local keywords e.g. GP Bondi Junction in your ‘About’ section, ‘Page settings’ and your short and long Page descriptions. Secondly, post about local businesses and events and include local hashtags.

6. Utilize audience insights

Facebook Insights, accessible from your account, lets you track user interaction with your Facebook Page e.g. number of visitors; days and times of visits; potential number of people you can reach (friends of your followers); number of likes and shares per post.

By monitoring your insights on a regular basis you can start to identify trends and patterns. For example, you can see the demographics of who is engaging with your post, figure out what types of posts are most popular as well as when the best time of day is to post. You can then use this information to guide your Facebook marketing and improve engagement.

7. Promote your Page

As well as ensuring your Facebook Page is regularly updated and monitored, you should also be proactively promoting it on an ongoing basis in order to attract new ‘likes’ and ‘follows’. The bigger your audience the greater your reach, which means the better chance you have of asserting your authority and bringing in new patients.

There are a number of ways you can do this. As well as sending requests to your friends, family and contacts, add links to your practice’s Facebook Page on other communications such as on your website and in your email signature. You can also try posting in Facebook Groups where you target patients spend time, or even use the paid promote posts feature.

When executed well, your medical practice Facebook Page has the potential to really drive and grow your business. However it’s important you see it as only one part of your wider social media and overall marketing plan.

6 ways to boost your practice’s email marketing efforts

How effective was your practice’s email marketing last year?

According to recent stats by email marketing software provider MailChimp, the average open, click-through and soft bounce rates for the medical, dental and healthcare sectors are 22.40%, 2.44% and 0.73% respectively (Source). How do yours compare? Are you even measuring them?

Chances are there’s room for improvement and, given that email marketing continues to prove to be an effective way to build brand awareness, gain authority and grow patient trust, it’s certainly worth investing some time and effort into it.

Wondering what you can do better? Here are some tips.

1. Stick to one primary message

No matter what type of content you choose to send out to your patients and contacts – appointment reminders, information on health-related topics, practice updates – don’t try and include it all in one email, instead keep a narrow focus.

Not only will this extend your opportunities for keeping in touch, but medical and health-related information can be hard to digest so by sticking to one clear message you give yourself the space to communicate the information more successfully. To boost engagement, enhance your message with images and videos.

2. Segment your audience

Targeted emails – ones that are highly relevant to the reader – have been proven to be much more effective than generic ones. It makes sense. Because of this, if you’re not already segmenting your contacts (dividing them into groups based on demographics, specific needs or diagnosis), now’s the time to start.

Yes, healthcare audiences can be extremely diverse so segmentation can get complicated, but it’s also important. It wouldn’t make sense, for example, to send an email on genealogical issues to male patients or one on dentures to younger clients – the topics just wouldn’t interest them. In fact, it’s actually fostering negative patient relationships.

3. Use mobile-friendly design

More and more people are opening their emails on mobile devices however the reality is that the experience isn’t always a positive one when they do. How many times have you opened an email and had to scroll across to read the text or zoom in to click a link? Frustrating isn’t it.

If the emails you’re currently sending out to patients fall into this category, your chances of seeing positive results from your campaigns are significantly reduced. The solution? Switch to mobile-responsive designs. If an email displays well it’s likely to be received better and get more clicks-throughs.

4. Set a regular send schedule

Sending out regular emails will not only assist you in planning your content but can build trust with your patients and contacts by setting expectations. In healthcare, daily or weekly emails may be overkill. Instead, once a month or bi-monthly might be more suitable. If you’re unsure, why not ask at sign up stage?

Once you’ve decided on a schedule, the best way to manage it is to use email marketing software such as MailChimp or Campaign Monitor. As well as giving you the tools to create professional looking emails, they also have the ability to automate what you send – useful for timely content and appointment reminders.

5. Include a call-to-action

If you want your emails to heed results, every one you send should have a clear purpose and a clear call-to-action. For example, if you’re sending an email reminding a patient to rebook, tailor your message to this end and make it easy for them by including a link to your online booking form.

The best call-to-actions are short, to the point and use action verbs to encourage click-throughs. Appropriate calls to action might be ‘Book your appointment today’, ‘Learn more’ or ‘Sign up for our free event’. Be sure to clarify the benefits in taking action e.g. don’t run out of medication, discover all you need to know about the procedure etc.

6. Track your success for insights

It’s all very well sending out emails to your patients and contacts but if you don’t know how well they’re performing, your efforts are wasted. If you’re using email marketing software, you can access detailed analytical information on the no. of clicks, opens, bounce, subscriber social activity etc. for every campaign.

As well as helping you see whether individual emails are being positively consumed and leading to action, you can A/B test (send out two different variations of an email) to identify problems e.g. perhaps your subject line is not powerful enough or your emails are too long.

Finally, don’t forget the legalities

By following this advice, email marketing can produce much better results for your practice. Importantly, don’t forget to ensure your efforts are in-line with current regulations such as the Privacy Act and anti-spam laws.

Google’s mobile-first index: Is your clinic or practice ready to rank?

Last month Google announced a significant shift in indexing. Instead of ranking the desktop version of websites, they will instead switch to ranking the mobile versions. This change will impact all businesses with an online presence. How much you’ll be affected and what your clinic or practice needs to do to prepare depends on your existing setup.

Why are they making the change?

Before now, indexing the desktop version of a site made sense. After all, this is where the majority of users did their searching. But with over 50 percent of Google searches now carried out via a mobile device, this is no longer the case. Because of this the quality of the results is being impacted.

When a user searches on a mobile device they’re currently served up the ‘best’ results based on the desktop versions. However, because mobile sites often have less content, if the mobile site they’re directed to doesn’t have the content the results indicate it can lead to dissatisfaction. With mobile-indexing this won’t happen.

How will my medical website be affected?

When Google’s mobile-index algorithm is fully implemented, Googlebots will crawl the mobile version of your clinic or practice site and re-rank it accordingly. If your site isn’t ready for these new crawlers, your ranking is likely to be negatively affected. Are you ready?

If you have a responsive/dynamic site you won’t really be affected because your mobile content is the same as your desktop. If your site is already ranking well in search, it will continue to do so in line with your optimisation efforts.

If you have a mobile optimised or dedicated mobile site which is distinct from your desktop version, you’ll need to make changes to ensure your mobile site is optimised for search. If your mobile site content and markup is insufficient, your ranking may drop.

If you don’t have a mobile version of your site you should be looking to rectify this. In the meantime, Google will continue to index the desktop version but will do so as mobile Googlebot. If you’re currently developing a mobile site, it’s better to stick with your desktop version than implement an unfinished mobile site.

What do I have to do?

If you have a responsive site, you don’t need to do anything at this stage. If you have a desktop only site you need to consider optimising for mobile – see Google’s mobile friendly guide. If you have a mobile version of your site, you should look to do the following:

Carry out a content audit – if your mobile content has fewer SEO friendly elements than your desktop version e.g. less copy, a reduced number of long tail keywords – you should consider making additions/revisions.
Verify your mobile site on Google Search Console – this will ensure you are notified about any issues on your mobile site, such as crawl errors.

Use Google’s txt testing tool – this will check your mobile site to ensure you aren’t blocking Googlebot. This is important because anything you block won’t be indexed.
Run Structured Data Testing – do this for both your mobile and desktop URL and then compare the difference. Address any syntax errors, and add structured markup you may have previously removed from your mobile site but avoid adding anything non-essential.
Optimise your H1s and Title Tag – just as is best SEO practice for a desktop site. Eventually Googlebot will use your mobile version of these for indexing and ranking.
Use Fetch as Google – this will show you exactly how Googlebots crawl and render your site.

Don’t worry about for now:

Canonical links – if your site has these, there’s no need to make changes. Google will continue to use these links as guides to serve the appropriate results to a user on desktop or mobile.
Links – these are not affected at the moment. Currently people have less links on their mobile site. This may need to be amended in the future.
Mobile content behind tabs – while Google devalues content behind tabs on desktop, the content behind tabs on mobile, which is used as a feature to make it easier for searchers to find content quickly, will not be devalued.
Page speed – page speed efforts are typically focused on desktop meaning mobile speeds are given less attention. Google is still working on how page speed will play a role.

It’s going to take a while for Google to make the transition, so there’s no need to panic. But if your practice or clinic does need to make changes, the sooner optimise your site for mobile indexing, the better.

If you have any questions you can email Google via the Webmasters Forum. If you need any help bringing your medical website in line with mobile-indexing, give us a call today.

10 content ideas for your medical practice blog

Blogging can benefit your practice in many ways. Not only can it drive traffic to your website but it can also convert browsers into patients and help you establish yourself as an authority in your field so people keep coming back.

In reality, though, coming up with a constant stream of quality blog ideas, week in week out, is no easy task. To help get you started, here are some content suggestions to keep the postings on your medical practice website engaging, relevant and regular.

1. Offer your opinion on the latest health news

The latest industry news can be a great starting point for new blogs – so keep your eyes peeled. However, it’s important that you don’t just reiterate stories in your own words. Use this opportunity to give your own take and view on the subject. Some online resources to look at include:

ABC Health News – http://www.abc.net.au/health/healthnews/
Sydney Morning Herald Health – http://www.smh.com.au/national/health
Government Health Latest News – http://www.health.gov.au/internet/ministers/publishing.nsf/Content/dr-david-gillespie-mp-latest-news

2. Focus on your specialities

Even general health practices have specialities – from women’s health to preventative care –and your blog is a great way to showcase yours. Tell people more about your expertise, how you got into it and what the advantages are for your patients in terms of facilities and treatments. But be sure to stay impartial.

3. Tie in to national health events

The Department of Health’s Calendar of Events can be a great source of inspiration for your blogs. From World Cancer Day to Coeliac Awareness Week and National Blood Donor Week, the calendar presents an opportunity to introduce a health-related issue or illness in a pertinent and timely manner.

4. Answer common patient questions

Helpful content is read content, so use your blog to answer some of the most common queries patients throw at you. These could be health, procedure or practice related. Much like a Q&A section, this is a chance to save time spent answering questions in person and to show patients you understand their needs.

5. Announce a new service or product

Whenever you introduce a new service or product to your practice, use your blog to introduce it. Even when it’s already highlighted on your site, this is your opportunity to provide a lot more detail about what it is, why you’re providing it and the benefits it offers. But keep it factual rather than promotional.

6. Share knowledge and research

Have you been to a conference recently or read an interesting article in your favourite medical journal? Use your blog to share your learnings with your patients. In addition, search for other credible academic content using Google Scholar and then curate your findings in plain English. Ensure you include links and references.

7. Use lists to give practical advice

Blogs presented in a list format such as 10 ways to boost your immune system or The 5 best treatments for the common cold, are one of the most popular types of content consumed. Whatever your field of practice, there are so many possibilities for topics here – just make sure you tailor them to your patients.

8. Explain health insurance practicalities

Health insurance is not always a straightforward topic to patients, so use your blog to provide more in-depth information to assist their understanding. If you have patients who have relocated from overseas you could look to explain Medicare in more detail, from who is entitled to receive its benefits to how bulk billing works.

9. Create an infographic

Mixing up the format of your blogs can be a great way to keep people interested. As well as creating traditional written blogs, design and share infographics – a content type proven to boost engagement and understanding. What could you visualise? National healthcare stats; your patient satisfaction survey results; steps for a common procedure.

10. Embed quality videos

When it comes to preferred content, videos rank high on the list. Create your own by focusing on a specific service you offer or give a visual tour of your practice. Alternatively, scour YouTube to find credible health-focused films and upload them as posts. Introduce them by explaining why you think they’re useful or interesting viewing.

Final thoughts

Coming up with blog ideas doesn’t have to be difficult but it does involve some time and effort. Try to spend about 30 minutes each day if you can thinking, reading, researching and brainstorming to fill out the above suggestions and keep the momentum going.

Finally, here are some other useful resources for content ideas:

Google Alerts – receive links to the most interesting medical-related content on the web
BuzzSumo – discover what medical content is performing best and who is creating it
Quora – find out what questions people are asking about illnesses and treatments

If you need help creating content for your medical practice blog, contact us today.

6 mistakes doctors make when creating a practice brochure

Six mistakes doctors make when creating a practice brochure

If you’re considering creating a new brochure for your medical practice or clinic, read on. Here are some common mistakes healthcare professionals make when putting together this important piece of marketing material, combined with a few useful tips on how to get it right.

1. Skip the research stage

If there’s one thing you need to do in marketing it’s research. Unfortunately, in the interests of saving time, it often gets overlooked by medical practitioners keen to get some physical collateral into the hands of prospective patients. Mistake one. If you don’t know your market or audience, your brochure won’t perform.

So what do you need to do? Seek out competitor brochures; Google search design trends and look at your patient stats for demographic insights.

2. Don’t set clear objectives

All too often doctors create a brochure for their practice because it’s expected. However, without a clear reason for producing one, it can be a wasted exercise. Objectives are vital as they help guide your content, inform your distribution strategy and help you measure effectiveness.

There are many objectives you could set for your brochure: attracting new patients, building your brand and reputation; generating patient referrals; selling additional services. Likely it will be a combination of several. Whatever they are, make sure they align with your overall marketing plan.

3. Take the do-it-yourself option

With limited budgets to work with, doctors often turn to online templates in the hope of creating a brochure in house. Whilst this may be an option if you have staff who are adequately skilled, in most instances it should be avoided.

A DIY brochure, no matter how polished, still looks DIY. What kind of impression are you giving to prospective patients if you can’t pay out for a professionally designed, written and printed brochure on decent quality stock? Whilst it may cost you upfront it’s affordable, and entrusting your brochure to the experts will be money well spent.

4. Adopt a clinical approach

When you’re delivering medical care, it’s easy to adopt a clinical tone in your brochure. In an attempt to inform patients about what your practice offers, describing your medical services, treatments and costs seems the natural way to go. Unfortunately it isn’t the right way to go.

To win patients over, you need to be forming emotional attachments not just filling them with information. As well as demonstrating an understanding of their situation, focus on benefits above features. In addition, keep your copy and images human, showcasing your people and your stories.

5. Fail to consider readability

From an overcrowded design with minimal white space to blocks of unbroken text or pages that don’t flow logically from one to the next, creating a brochure which fails to take readability into account is a common mistake.

The most important thing to bear in mind is that people don’t read they scan. This means that you need to make your headings impactful and break up your text with subheads and bullets. In addition, support visuals with captions and ensure you tell a story from front to back.

6. Use generic imagery

When creating a brochure for their medical practice, many doctors turn to online stock photography to add visual appeal. It’s understandable. It’s convenient, can be inexpensive and saves you the time of setting up a shoot yourself. However, using it is not recommended.

Whilst stock images can look professional, they lack credibility. Why does that matter? Because without credibility you can’t build trust – a vital element in ensuring a patient chooses you over another practice. Using professional shots of your practice and staff will help you form those bonds and set you apart.

As well as avoiding these common mistakes, ensure your brochure has clear calls to action throughout so people know what to do next. Plus create a digital version – a simple PDF should suffice – so it can also be accessed online.